What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word projector? Does it include conference rooms and be primarily relevant to corporate and educational facilities? Well, you’re not alone. The projector market in India has so far been dominated by these institutions. However, this is changing, and changing a lot. Recent reports have highlighted consumers’ desire to replicate the movie experience at home on a budget. If this is true, growing demand from the home entertainment industry is expected to drive the next wave of projector demand in India. Therefore, the two factors that are likely to drive this segment are lifestyle and portability. Lumio, a brand only a few months old in India, may offer a solution.
Projectors have historically been expensive things, and even if you’re a projector enthusiast, you might not jump at the chance to buy one right away because there’s always the option of buying a big-screen smart TV. Indian-made brand Lumio, which has made a name for itself in India with its Vision smart TVs, has announced its entry into the Indian home projector market with Arc brand projectors Arc 5 and Arc 7. The company’s goal is simple: fill the gap between Rs 2,000 and Rs 100 in the projector segment in India. 20,000 Rs 50,000 – that’s exactly how Arc 5 and 7 are priced. I received the Arc 7 projector for review, which is why I think it’s a step in the right direction.
Lumio Arc 7 is a product designed and manufactured in India
Lumio Arc 7 price and availability in India
Lumio Arc 7 is priced at Rs. 34,999 and available on Amazon.in. Although Lumio is a new brand, it promises a solid service network of more than 200 centers to provide an on-the-go service experience. The company also claims to cover more than 19,000 passwords nationwide. The Arc 7 projector comes with a standard one-year warranty.
Lumio Arc 7 projector design and portability: The real magic is in its size
- Product Dimensions – 127.6 x 197.2 x 214.8 mm
- Product weight – 2.36 kg
- Power consumption – 120W
- Native aspect ratio support – 16:9
Designed in Bangalore, Lumio’s Arc 7 projector features a minimalist design that will complement any décor. It requires no installation, no screen, and no technician required to get started. What it really needs is a blank wall into which you can project 100 inches. When I started using Lumio Arc 7, this was indeed a challenging task for me.
Great for living rooms and bedrooms
Traditionally, we’ve been used to designing our homes with the walls in mind for TVs, but without paying much attention to empty spaces. It’s a paradox of modern architecture that you have to solve yourself. I somehow managed to do this thanks to the “UnderStand”, a built-in stand that raises the projector off the surface for better alignment. Well, that’s one of the advantages of the Arc projector. The magic of automatic settings, you just point and play. The feeling of creating a cozy cinema atmosphere anywhere is unparalleled. The company focused on the Arc projector’s sealed and dust-proof design, which is a great example of attention to detail considering the amount of dust that exists around us.
Flip the Arc 7 around and place it wherever you want with the integrated “UnderStand”
Portability is another parameter on which Lumio Arc 7 gets perfect marks. Weighing less than 2.5 kilograms, Arc 7 is the ideal companion to take your big screen with you. Out of the box, it comes with an adapter that requires 120W of power, and it also has a built-in fan. However, if the Lumio team could add a pole or handle to the Arc 7 – think portable party speaker (great for inspiration). Then moving from one place to another is ideal. Now you have to select the device as a box. Considering the folks at Lumio pay great attention to detail, we can expect the next iteration to improve the aesthetics of the portable.
Unlike many expensive projectors, Lumio hasn’t forgotten the idea of plugging in your favorite gadgets. The Arc 7 features an HDMI port and a 3.5mm audio jack for connecting your preferred sound setup. There is also a built-in USB port for accessing files via a pen drive, hard drive, or any other storage device. Overall, the Arc 7 has been carefully designed to address all the pain points of this segment and be a stylish gadget worth carrying around. It helps you go from watching TV to binge watching in just two minutes.
It has a minimalist design and comes in a high-quality matte gray finish
Lumio Arc 7 projector performance: big screen, small scene
- SoC, RAM, Storage – MediaTek 9630, 2GB RAM, 16GB storage
- Resolution – 1920 x 1080
- Optical engine-ArcLight fully sealed system
- Light source – LED
- Screen size – 40 – 100 inches
- Brightness – 400 ANSI lumens
- Contrast Ratio – 1500:1 (Typical)
Lumio was the first brand to take over the living room with its Vision TV, and now it’s launching a portable projector that can completely replace a TV. This idea is interesting! Think unplug and upgrade for your movie or game night with the Lumio Arc 7 Projector. The best thing about the Arc 7 is that it doesn’t do what you’d expect from a 4K laser projector. Instead, it provides a perfect solution for a specific consumer, which I will discuss later.
It can provide projection up to 100 inches and has 400 ANSI lumens for stunning clarity even in rooms with ambient light
It offers Full HD (1080p) resolution, which is incredible quality for the price. In real-world performance, the Arc 7 delivers a sufficiently bright projection and excellent image quality. Brightness is decent, but not great. It delivers 400 ANSI lumens, which on paper may sound like less than 10,000 lumens, which is what some competing projector brands advertise, but these are fake numbers meant to impress potential buyers.
ANSI Lumens is the real deal, and thanks to Lumio, consumers now know the truth that has been hidden for years by smart marketing gimmicks from Indian projector brands. If you plan to install the Arc 7 in a room where there is always natural light, you may not be able to fully enjoy its performance. However, you can really enjoy the Arc 7’s picture quality if you place it in a dimly lit or potentially dark room.
In terms of connectivity, it comes with HDMI 2.0 (HDMI ARC supported), USB 2.0, Bluetooth 5.1, Wi-Fi 5 (dual band), and 3.5mm audio jack
Arc 7 is probably the first projector in India to be Netflix certified, allowing you to stream without any hiccups. Lumio, despite being a new brand less than a year old, is already working on solving real problems to improve the overall user experience.
The Arc 7 has a projection distance of up to 100 inches, depending on the distance from the wall. For example, you can project multimedia onto a screen up to 100 inches when located approximately 9 feet away. It also supports HDR10. And since it runs Google TV, you get a familiar user interface. Lumio launches a custom dashboard called TLDR on the Arc 7 with Vision. This provides the perfect platform to discover music and follow your favorite sports without switching apps. The remote control includes a dedicated TLDR button.
It comes with 2 8W stereo speakers with passive radiators that deliver room-filling sound and supports Dolby Audio
It comes with a dedicated TOF (Time of Flight) sensor that handles the projection angle by measuring the distance to the wall. Lumio’s internal Smooth Keystone Recalibration, or STR8 technology, handles the projection’s alignment process. The Arc 7 works flawlessly compared to traditional projectors and adjusts the projection in real-time thanks to the automatic keystone correction feature both vertically and horizontally. The real magic is Lumio’s smart obstacle avoidance feature, which can detect any object and adjust the projection in seconds.
During the review, however, the Arc 7’s focus shifted multiple times in the projection, despite the placement not actually moving. The only good thing is a button on the remote that helps you refocus in seconds. However, as this happened multiple times, the situation was not pleasant.
Minion Noir remote with Arc 7 supports Google Assistant and dedicated buttons for Netflix, YouTube and TLDR
The tower design is an incredible way to save space in your home or office compared to traditional projectors. In addition, Arc 7 also features a sealed and dust-proof design. The Arc 7 projector is equipped with two 8W speakers and supports Dolby Audio. It’s loud enough to keep you entertained at any party, whether it’s watching your favorite movie or playing a game. The good news is that the Arc 7 comes with a 3.5mm audio jack, which means you can connect external speakers too.
Overall, Lumio has hit the right product with the Arc 7 and Arc 5 as its first projector products. At this price, it’s a no-brainer for anyone planning a secondary screen solution.
It uses a time-of-flight (TOF) sensor for obstacle avoidance and instant autofocus
Lumio Arc 7 Projector Verdict: The Perfect Companion, Not a Replacement
Before drawing conclusions, it’s important to address the elephant in the room. Can a projector replace a smart TV in your home? No, but they make great companion devices.
Now, let’s talk about Lumio Arc 7, a new product for the Indian market. At Rs. 34,999, the device is an excellent package and offers a wealth of features. But who exactly is this portable projector for? My answer is simple: Arc 7 projectors are great for travelers, renters, and kids’ rooms. This is a niche projector that definitely achieves its goals with excellent picture quality.
Weighs less than 2.5kg
Is it an absolutely perfect product? Of course not, and there’s plenty of room for improvement. But overall, the Arc 7 is a strong contender in the affordable projector segment in India. At this price, it’s a viable second screen option for those who don’t want to block a wall or put another TV stand in their home. Lumio’s Arc 7 (and Arc 5) should push the industry to solve core market problems rather than focus on fancy specs and feature sheets. Regarding product support, Lumio says that like the Vision TV, the Arc 7 will also receive similar service network support.
Lumio Arc 7 price in India (At the time of this review): Rs. 34,999
Rating:
Design: 9
Performance: 9
Visual FM: 9
Overall: 9
advantage
- Plug and play devices on the go (almost)
- good picture quality
- Netflix built-in
- Speakers are great for a projector in this price range
- Excellent value for money product
shortcoming
- For optimal viewing, manual adjustments are sometimes still required
- Capped at Full HD resolution
- There is no lens cap in the box
